Chapter 10: The Message Pu Huaiyan Sent by Mistake.
Lu Zhixing’s eyes instantly filled with profound agony. “I’m not trying to drag this out with you, Dai Dai. I just can’t bring myself to give up on you.”
Shan Dai stopped speaking and slowly walked toward the door.
The man stumbled as he used the sofa armrest to pull himself up, looking at her back. “Dai Dai… where are you going?”
“I’m staying outside.”
“This house belongs to you, Dai Dai.” He took a deep breath, his eyes burning as he stared at her back. “I’m begging you. Stay, and let’s talk this through properly.”
Shan Dai didn’t say another word. She put on her shoes and stepped outside. At the doorway, she turned back and said to him, “Contact me when you’ve thought it through to handle the procedures. If you don’t reach out within a week, I will file for divorce.”
The look in the man’s eyes instantly shattered into pieces. He stared at her standing in the doorway from across half the house, his eyes bloodshot.
Shan Dai went to Ziming’s place. Earlier, Ziming had told her to come over after she finished handling things, likely knowing she needed company right now.
When she arrived, the young heiress was sitting quietly at home waiting for her.
Seeing her return with noticeably red eyes, Ziming immediately rushed forward. “What did that scumbag say? He actually made you cry! I’m seriously going to go smash him to death.”
Shan Dai collapsed into the sofa, letting out a exhausted sigh. “He won’t divorce.”
“Fuck that scumbag! I swear!!” Ziming walked over and sat beside her. “Then what should we do? File for divorce? That process takes way too long; you’ll be exhausted.”
“If we have to wait, then we wait. There’s no other choice.”
“You should force him into a divorce. Do you have photos of him dating someone else or anything? Send them to his company to threaten him.”
Shan Dai let out a bitter laugh and shook her head. “No. It hasn’t reached the point where we need to make things so ugly. We shouldn’t be like that with each other.”
“Your head is still filled with how good he used to be! Are you stupid? He betrayed you!” Ziming said resentfully.
Shan Dai raised her weak hands to cup Ziming’s face. “Back when my father was hospitalized, the hospital required family members to donate blood before they would release blood for his use. My mother and I didn’t meet the requirements. He rushed back from out of town, traveling non-stop without sleeping for two straight nights to donate blood. Then he stayed up with me in the hospital, keeping watch night after night. Back then, he paid for the entire surgery… I hadn’t even graduated yet and didn’t have a single penny.”
She held back the tears in her eyes, her voice raspy. “His wrongdoing toward me is in the present, but he never let me down in the past. If I go to his company to threaten him, what I destroy is the entire Lu Zhixing—from his youth to his maturity, all the way into his future. That wouldn’t be me getting revenge on him; it would be me betraying my past self… I would hate myself for changing too, for betraying the wonderful Lu Zhixing from back then. When he was so good to me, why would I betray him?”
Ziming took a deep breath, at a loss for words.
Shan Dai’s eyes turned crimson as she choked up. “Consider this period of waiting as repayment for his companionship back then. Once enough time passes, we won’t owe each other anything anymore, which is fine too. After the divorce, I don’t want to have any connection with him, so settling things cleanly is for the best.”
Ziming pulled her firmly into her arms, stroking her head with immense heartache. “Okay, we’ll do as you say, Dai Dai. I know, I know about your predicament back then, and I know how good he was to you then. Anything works, we’ll follow your plan. Pay him back what was owed.”
Shan Dai buried her face into her shoulder, her tears soaking into her collar.
For the first time throughout these days, she cried in front of Ziming, moving from soft whimpers to full, body-trembling sobs.
Ziming still gritted her teeth in pure hatred. That scumbag dog. A man who couldn’t stay faithful to the end was complete trash. It was only because she had gone abroad for surgery that year and wasn’t in the country; otherwise, would it ever have been his turn to play the good guy, leaving Shan Dai trapped in such a dilemma now?
Shan Dai developed a fever. It was likely that the high-pressure state she had maintained for the past half-month was released through that cathartic cry, causing her body to finally give out.
She rested at home for two days without getting better. That morning, her temperature spiked directly to 38.5°C. After going to the hospital for an IV drip and returning home, she continued to suffer from a recurrent low-grade fever over the next three days.
…
By mid-May, the northern capital had transitioned from the lingering spring chill into early summer. On that day, Shen Jiani was at work. Humming a tune as she stepped into the secretary’s office, she received a call from her dear President Pu, telling her to bring the PR Department Manager up to his office.
The! PR! Department! Manager???
Such a bombshell figure? Could it be that the big boss was about to enforce justice for love by firing his employee who violated public order and good morals?
Instead of calling the person right away, she zipped straight over to the President’s Office herself.
Slipping inside, she walked straight up to the executive desk. “Gege, you’re going to fire the PR Department Manager? Firing someone requires a reason, and if you do that, Lu Zhixing’s affair won’t stay hidden. Even though Ms. Shan doesn’t live in Beijing, it could still affect her reputation to some extent. She runs a company after all, so maybe she doesn’t want the exposure herself? Besides, if you’re firing someone, shouldn’t you fire that guy named Lu along with her?”
The man browsed through the proposal in his hand, speaking calmly, “Put that matter on hold for now. Call her up.”
On hold? He’d fire her sooner or later. She knew there was no way he could tolerate an employee like that enjoying a high-ranking position in his company so comfortably—mainly because she had made his sweetheart suffer.
Shen Jiani opened WeChat, searched for the PR Department Manager’s account, and sent: “President Pu asks Manager Xu to come up to his office.”
Afterward, she stood off to the side with an utterly respectful, secretary-like demeanor, waiting quietly.
The crisp, elegant sound of high heels soon echoed over. Xu Minheng had long, straight black hair and wore a smoke-blue pencil skirt. Her figure was slender and tall, radiating effortless elegance.
Shen Jiani had never met her before, only learning about her after hearing a certain piece of news recently. Today was her first time seeing her in person. Taking a sudden look and recalling the Moment Shan Dai had posted a few days ago, she realized their vibes were quite similar—both had long, straight black hair. Lu Zhixing’s taste was certainly consistent, though it was quite strange: why would he fall for two people with the exact same vibe?
“Hello, President Pu.” She stepped closer to the executive desk and greeted Shen Jiani as well, “Secretary Shen.”
Shen Jiani raised her chin toward the chair, gesturing for her to sit.
However, before Xu Minheng could sit down, the man at the executive desk suddenly raised his head. “Manager Xu.”
She immediately stood straight and smiled, “President Pu, do you have any instructions?”
“The PR Department Head over in Lan City has been reassigned, and the newcomer hasn’t taken office yet. Go fill in for a few days—about a week. Leave on my plane this afternoon.”
The look on Xu Minheng’s face visibly froze. “Lan City? Department Head?”
“Is there a problem?”
Shen Jiani watched bit by bit as a joyful expression slowly overflowed in her eyes, like the morning glow rising in the sky. Lan City—going there meant she could see Lu Zhixing, while the significant bump in position was secondary.
She sneered internally, starting to feel heartbroken for that Ms. Shan whom she had never met, yet had contacted quite a lot recently.
Still, she didn’t know why Pu Huaiyan would transfer her over there. Wasn’t that like putting a rat in charge of guarding the rice barn? When the two of them met in private again, what would happen to Shan Dai? They weren’t even divorced yet; she didn’t believe Lu Zhixing wouldn’t see her.
“Alright. No problem,” Xu Minheng replied crisply and left shortly after.
Once the office door closed, Shen Jiani asked the owner, “Are you going on a business trip? Then I won’t come to the company for the next few days.” She didn’t have much to do anyway; she was just lingering around him to get free food and drinks for a few months before school started. He didn’t dare assign her any real official business, fearing she might turn the company into a second Taiheng.
The man looked sideways at her, his gaze rarely so serious—a look of appreciation as if viewing a talented individual. “You’re coming with me.”
“Why?” Shen Jiani was beyond curious, but she wasn’t keen on business trips. Other people got stipends for business trips, but she didn’t. “I even planned to go shopping tonight.”
“Lan City has streets.”
“…”
What a response—”Lan City has streets.” That evening, when Shen Jiani found herself in Jiangnan, she realized he wasn’t joking.
After the plane landed at Lan City Landong International Airport in the afternoon, the group of three went straight to the branch office.
By the time the work arrangements were finalized, the entire city was already cloaked in twilight.
After dropping off the PR Department Manager—who couldn’t hide the pleasant surprise on her face at all—Pu Huaiyan took Shen Jiani out for dinner alone, followed by a late-night drive.
The black Bentley cruised along Lan City’s CBD before the navigation system soon chimed: “You have arrived at Mingdai Company. Navigation ended.”
Mingdai Company? Shen Jiani pulled out her phone in the passenger seat and immediately looked it up on Baidu. She quickly saw: Co-founder of Mingdai Culture Media Company: Shan Dai.
Impressive, truly impressive. This was what the feeling of fluttery romance looked like—absolutely terrifying. He claimed he was taking her out for a night drive to see the sights, but in reality, he circled Mingdai Company three times like a ghost trapped in a maze, unable to drive the wheels away no matter what.
In ancient times, crows circled a tree three times, wondering which branch to rely on; today, Pu Huaiyan circled the CBD three times at night, searching for a married woman.
Shen Jiani was almost motion-sick by the end, but she didn’t dare speak up because she had ordered several types of ice cream to taste during dinner, and the person paying hadn’t said a single word, showing generous indulgence the whole time.
Sure enough, the price followed right after.
At 10:30 PM, the car finally broke free from the spell. Since she was motion-sick to the point of vomiting, she raised her hand to request to drive.
The night roads in Lan City were truly hard to navigate. Having grown up in Toronto since childhood, Shen Jiani was used to spacious streets with vast land and sparse crowds. Coming to this city for the first time, even near 11:00 PM, the cars were still standstill like a long dragon.
After driving for less than ten minutes, just as she was growing frustrated, a red light finally turned green. Halfway through crossing, the car was struck head-on by an oncoming sedan whose light had turned red, yet failed to brake and wait.
Uh… Shen Jiani felt her chest shudder violently, the airbag striking her so hard she nearly threw up her heart.
…
Shan Dai hadn’t checked her phone for days. When she finally regained some clarity that day, she rarely grabbed her phone to check on work. There were over a hundred missed calls, almost all from Lu Zhixing, along with dozens of WeChat messages from him.
Skimming through them, they were all about compensation, remorse, vows, and his decision to transfer all his property to her name.
Shan Dai didn’t reply, exiting to check other messages. Unexpectedly, she found messages from Secretary Shen.
She clicked into them immediately.
Sent two days ago, it read: “Hello, Ms. Shan, sorry to bother you. I saw someone in a Lan City hospital who looked a lot like you. Are you alright, Ms. Shan?”
Seeing that she hadn’t replied for a day, she sent another line: “I hope I misidentified you. Best wishes.”
Shan Dai immediately replied out of curiosity: “Secretary Shen, I’m sorry, I had a fever these past two days and didn’t check my phone. I went to the hospital for an IV drip that day.” “Though why did you come to Lan City, Secretary Shen, and go to the hospital too? Are you feeling unwell?”
She replied in seconds: “Ms. Shan, are you better? I came on a business trip with President Pu, and then we got into a crash!!!”
Shan Dai was deeply surprised, typing back without stopping: “I’m alright. Were you injured, or was President Pu?”
Shen Jiani: “Can it be that both of us were injured?”
“…” Shan Dai was shocked, replying again: “Is it that serious? Where are you staying, Secretary Shen? Would it be convenient for me to visit?”
“We’ve already returned to the capital.”
“…” Shan Dai took a deep breath, clutching her forehead as she let out a painful sigh, before typing again: “I’m so sorry, truly sorry, Secretary Shen. I haven’t checked my phone for the past few days because I was resting, so I completely missed your situation. How are you both doing right now?”
Shen Jiani: “Don’t say that, Ms. Shan, you should rest properly when you’re sick. We’re fine, not dead.”
“…”
“After coming back, we’re just recovering. Did you know President Pu is a model worker? He can work even while injured. Look at my Moments—Beijing’s Number One Model Worker.”
Shan Dai exited in surprise to check Moments.
Having been offline for only a few days, she discovered Secretary Shen had actually updated quite a few private photos of her boss again. After being confronted by Pu Huaiyan, she still secretly posted photos without remorse.
Just last night at 11:00 PM, an update was posted, featuring a photo of Pu Huaiyan signing documents in his office with his injured hand.
That hand had a long section bandaged, extending from the back of his hand to his forearm, wrapped in a thick layer of white gauze.
The caption read—What should an employee do with a boss like this? Should I work overtime while injured too? Someone please pity him and make him rest, stop tormenting me sob sob sob, he’s just lacking love.
Why was he lacking love? Why didn’t his girlfriend tell him to get more rest?
Shan Dai exited to ask Shen Jiani: “Um, Secretary Shen, President Pu and his girlfriend haven’t broken up, right?”
Shen Jiani: “He doesn’t have a girlfriend.”
“??” Shan Dai thought her memory was playing tricks on her. “Didn’t he want to send a birthday gift to his girlfriend last time? Did she break up with him because it was sent wrong?”
Shen Jiani: “No, I went to confess and apologize to him about the matter later, and found out that gift wasn’t for a girlfriend. It was for his relative—a relative’s birthday.”
Shan Dai suddenly realized—so that was why.
She asked: “Has he been working overtime with an injury like this lately? It was already 11:00 PM when you updated Moments.”
“Yeah, constantly working overtime, not going back even at 11:00 PM. Do you think he’ll end up earning money he won’t be alive to spend one day?”
“…” Shan Dai was unwilling to think of him like that. “You should persuade him, Secretary Shen. His injury looks quite serious.”
Shen Jiani: “Oh my gosh, Ms. Shan, I make a meager salary, how could I have the right to persuade him? I don’t want to persuade him either. Plainly speaking, what common language do us employees have with big bosses like them? It’d be great if he collapsed from exhaustion—then I could take a break too.”
“…” Shan Dai felt an indescribable sensation in her heart.
She suddenly realized she had nothing left to chat with her about. She exited back to Moments, looking at that photo taken in the office at 11:00 PM.
Right now it was 3:00 PM, so he should be at the company.
After thinking it over, Shan Dai clicked into the account that had remained unedited, simply named “Pu Huaiyan”.
She typed a line over: “President Pu, I heard you came to Lan City on a business trip a couple of days ago and met with an accident. Coincidentally, I had a fever and hadn’t checked my phone, missing Secretary Shen’s messages. I am deeply sorry that during your rare visit, I didn’t get to treat you, and even missed the news of your injury.”
“I just saw Secretary Shen’s photos—your injury isn’t light, yet you were still working overtime late last night… I don’t know the exact details of your injury, but regardless, please rest more so you can recover faster.”
“Sorry to disturb you, President Pu. No need to reply to me, just rest more.”
After about five minutes, the phone vibrated.
Pu Huaiyan: “Madam had a fever, how is your body feeling?”
Shan Dai was surprised by his reply, but thinking back to his usual gentlemanly nature, it felt reasonable. She typed: “Mostly recovered, thank you for your concern, President Pu. How about you?”
Pu Huaiyan: “I’m fine.”
How could he state it so lightly? Shan Dai sighed.
Pu Huaiyan: “This business trip, I wanted to take the opportunity to have a meal with Madam, saving Madam from constantly keeping this small favor on your mind. I didn’t expect to miss it. Rest well and take care of your health.”
The corners of Shan Dai’s mouth pulled up slightly, as if a ray of sunlight had managed to penetrate the haze of the past few days. “Okay. Then let’s rest together.”
The chat window fell still, with no more updates. However, just as Shan Dai closed her eyes to take a nap, the phone suddenly vibrated in her palm.
Thinking it was a call from Lu Zhixing, she didn’t expect it to still be from Pu Huaiyan.
She tapped into it, yet found herself somewhat unable to understand that message.
Pu Huaiyan: “Bring the doctor from Duo’an Hospital to my office. I don’t have time to go for an IV drip today.”
Shan Dai was curious—Duo’an Hospital? That was a private hospital in Lan City located right near the CBD. She had gone to that exact hospital for her IV drip a couple of days ago.
But hadn’t he already returned to the capital?
Fearing it might delay his treatment, she immediately replied to ask: “Did President Pu send it to the wrong person?”
As usual, he waited three to five minutes before replying: “Ah, yes, I meant to send it to my secretary. Sorry to disturb you.”
Shan Dai couldn’t help typing again: “Hasn’t President Pu returned to the capital? Why do you need a doctor from Duo’an? Could it be… you’re still in Lan City?”
Pu Huaiyan: “I returned to the capital. I was just used to saying it over the past couple of days and forgot for a moment that I’m already back.”
For some reason, Shan Dai subconsciously doubted the truth of this sentence. Sending a WeChat message to the wrong person was normal, but she didn’t quite believe a person like Pu Huaiyan would make a slip of the tongue in his phrasing.
After hesitating for two minutes, she couldn’t resist sending another message: “If President Pu hasn’t returned to the capital, can you tell me the truth? Looking at your photos, your injury is truly not light. I think I should pay you a visit. I won’t take up President Pu’s time, but at the very least, taking a look is only right. Regarding what happened in Beijing earlier, to be honest, I haven’t properly thanked President Pu yet.”
This time, there was complete silence for ten full minutes, but a reply eventually arrived.
Pu Huaiyan: “Apologies. Secretary Shen mentioned earlier that Madam’s health probably hasn’t fully recovered yet, so I didn’t want to trouble Madam to come visit. It’s just a minor injury, which is why I lied that I had returned.”
As expected. A wave of bittersweet emotion drifted through Shan Dai’s heart, her mind subconsciously touched by his gentlemanly thoughtfulness. She said: “It’s no trouble. I’m mostly better today, really—I can even go to work tomorrow. Whenever it’s convenient for President Pu, I’ll pay you a visit; otherwise, I won’t feel at ease.”
“I’m at the company. But… Manager Lu is also at this company, and I don’t wish for Madam to come here.”
Shan Dai clutched her forehead, letting out a deep sigh.
Pu Huaiyan: “Does Madam have plans tonight? If Madam is free, I’ll bring Secretary Shen along and treat Madam to dinner.”
Shan Dai thought that she should be the one playing host, but it didn’t matter—it was just dinner, a mere turn of phrase. She replied directly: “Okay.”
…
The chat window went quiet. The man set down his phone, raising his aching, sore right hand to gently support it with his left.
The setting sun poured through the high-rise floor-to-ceiling windows, casting light onto the man’s faintly curved lips, rendering his handsome face peerless in all the world.
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